TODAY NICARAGUA – Despite a top 40 performance in Personal Freedom and Natural Environment, and rising Economic Quality, Nicaragua has slipped five ranks overall since 2007, according to the Leguatum Prosperity Index.

Overall Nicaragua ranks 69th of 149 on the prosperity index.

The Legatum reports says that Nicaragua has fallen five ranks since 2007 in overall prosperity is not to say that progress has not been made. The country has risen 23 ranks in Economic Quality since 2007 thanks to rising satisfaction with living standards and falling rates of poverty. Governance has also improved by 12 ranks since 2007 thanks to rising confidence in government and increased female representation in parliament.

However, that these sub-indices have improved cannot hide the fact that Nicaragua is falling behind on overall prosperity globally, although comparing it to its neighbours tells a somewhat different story.

Whilst Costa Rica, Nicaragua’s neighbour to the south, now stands in the top thirty for overall prosperity, countries such as Honduras (neighbour to the north) have performed innumerably worse than Nicaragua across entirety of the Prosperity Index.

That being said, Nicaragua is a long way off Costa Rica’s level of prosperity.

In Latin America, Uruguay is the most prosperous, followed by Costa Rica in second place, Chile is 3rd, Panama in 4th place and Argentina fifth.

Visit the Rankings table to see how Nicaragua compares to other countries.

This is the tenth consecutive study carried out by the Legatum Institute and 149 countries were evaluated on variables such as economics, education, entrepreneurship, governance, health, individual freedom and security, were taken into account to make the ladder.

Globally, New Zealand is the nation that occupies first place of prosperity, followed by Norway, Finland, Switzerland and Canada.